Should I refuse reception settling in days if I can?

We all need to settle in. To a new job, new home, new situation. He needs to get his bearings and start making friends. He needs to settle in. Please make it work for him.

Our school got rid of most of this this year. All the children join the class from local nurseries and preschools, most from the same setting next door. I think they did 2 half days in the summer and then two in september then full time.

It was fine.

“Gotten”

Have you talked to the school? They vary a lot, like pp, we had a few settling in days in July and FT from day 1 in September wit optional early finish. We had a home visit from a teacher and TA together before first child started, not with second but not sure if that was because they already knew us ir because they no longer did them. Each school does things differently just talk to them.

I think it's important to reiterate this very valid point.

There is no evidence to back up a part-time transition being beneficial. It's largely done because the school 'has always done it that way'.

All those saying it's good for the children are in my professional and personal experience talking nonsense. It's not based on the fact it's better for them at all and as I and others who work in schools have pointed out on this thread a prolonged drawn out process actually makes the children less settled.

Back in the mid 1990s one of mine had a term of mornings only as she was a March birthday ,my second had half a term of mornings only as her bday was October ...end of Feb birthday was the cut off between the two !!!

These long drawn out staggered starts do seem ridiculous - my kids school do 2 half days then full time. Surely keeping changing things is more disruptive? I'd ask for full time if you can.

However OP, I think you need to be more careful not to both book up all your annual leave this early in future as presumably you don't even have a calendar of when inset days will be yet, and your sick leave doesn't cover your child being ill and unable to go to school or emergency school closures from power cuts or whatever.

Hard for teachers who don't get any annual leave though!

If school won't change it, Do you have a relative who could help, even if it meant them coming to stay for a few days? If not I guess you are going to have to have one of you take parental leave and duck up the cost somehow. It's hard though.

that approach is fine in my opinion but I’ve heard of schools doing three or four weeks or short days and in some cases even up to the October half term, that’s when it bei ces impossible to accommodate for working parents. Not sure what the op situation is

Totally agree. It’s unnecessary and outdated. The children then expect tondi short days and go home. They are devastated when it becomes full time. Most if not all have been to nursery/ pre-school. Send them full days or keep at nursery till strange settling in is over. All schools where I live have now stopped this.

We do home visits for two reasons. The main reason is for your child to meet us in their own environment, which shows them that we are safe adults that you trust to allow into your home. The other reason is for us to see what kind of home the child has. Since Covid very few professionals such as health visitors go into children's homes and we can identify if support is needed for a family. I've done lots of home visits over the years and on a few occasions have seen some quite alarming things which have needed a referral. The one which stands out the most was a family which had dog and cat poo all over the floor inside. You could smell it from outside.

I think some parents think that we are being nosey and want to judge what kind of tea you offer us, but was actually want to put your child at ease before one of the biggest events of our lives and check they are not living in a dangerous environment.

Thanks.
But why do some schools do this and others not. My kids started 2004 and 2007

Home visits are certainly not a new thing. We had home visits for both my children circa 1998 and 2004. My children both loved showing the teacher their favourite toys etc and it seemed a positive thing to do even if I did have to book half a day off work

Our school had settling in days but as our kids had been at nursery full time from 1year old we just said no. A quick tour of the school when we chose it and that was it. Some kids did half days but they were mainly the ones that hadn’t been to full time or any nursery at all.

Id love someone to tell me why some schools do Home Visits.

Is this a new thing
Do all schools do it
Why

Bollocks! Mine were all more than ready for school and were irritated by the namby-pamby "settling in" days.

Some schools do take it to extremes.

There are several reasons schools are legally required to provide full-time education from the get go and one of them is that parents absolutely need to be able to rely on them to look after their DC for the whole school day. The child care role of school has always been important and that importance has increased as more mothers of young children have moved into paid employment. It was seen clearly during COVID just how vital the school’s role as a “babysitting service” (as you put it) is.

OP has every right to rely on the expectation her DC will get the school hours they are legally entitled to. Both for educational purposes and in terms of child care. State education is free at the point of service and that means that, except in very proscribed circumstances, schools cannot require parents to cover costs. That includes not requiring parents to cover the costs of childcare because the school would like to have fewer children in that day. Even if it is beneficial to most children (and the evidence does not support it) it is not something that our society has deemed important enough to specifically cover the cost of or require parents to cover the cost of. It’s something teachers came up with, probably without any thought to the costs to families.

OP has not been irresponsible to use her annual leave to minimize her childcare costs if they are struggling for money. It’s entirely sensible to do so. And it’s sensible of her to look at what she is legally entitled to expect her DC’s school to provide and structure her holiday and work around that - which she has done.

OH FFS!!
Teachers go into school during the holidays to male sure their class is set up and ready to run first day nail.
Activities/lessons are planned and resources sorted well before a child enters the class.

When I taught reception we offered either part days 10-2 first week, 9.30-2.30 2nd week and then in full time 3rd week. Most children came in full time immediately but we only had a small intake with mixed aged classes so the older children already knew routines etc

There is no evidence to back up a part-time transition being beneficial. It's largely done because the school 'has always done it that way'.

Since the School Admissions Code made it explicit in 2021 that full-time places should be offered from the first day of the academic year, decent schools have changed.

If schools are not aware of this change, what else are they not aware of?

The School Admissions Code was changed in 2021 and now states that schools must be able to provide full-time provision from the beginning of the academic year.

Schools that don't are not acting within the legislation.

The relevant paragraph is 2.17 in the Code.

All the schools in our Trust offered full time places when the Code changed and tge children settle much quicker than they did before.

Just call and ask the school.

Reception teachers at my DDs school do visits to the preschool settings as well as settling in days.

One of my DDs did her settling in session on her own on a different day to the other children due to our circumstances at the time. The other children did 2 half days, our dd did just over 1 half day.

You have to remember the days are planned out in advance and it will be dependant on the schools layout, for want of a better word, whether they can accommodate a change to their usual settling in plan.

But you won’t know unless you ask.

Alternatively, if you already have established relationships with other parents, could you ask someone to help with pick up and minding your dd for a couple of hours on that day?

There’s a reason schools transition the children into full time. Generally speaking, it’s done over a couple of days which is for the benefit of the children. I could understand the inconvenience if it were weeks, but I bet this isn’t the case.

They are not a babysitting service there to work around the OP’s work schedule. Of course she has been irresponsible. She’s used all of her annual leave and not taken into consideration that she needs to be there to support her child over a couple of days when they start school. She’s happy to shove the kid in without a backward glance because it’s convenient. That is being irresponsible and making poor parenting choices.

The “rule” is that the school is legally obliged to provide her DC with a full time space. It is a requirement schools have known about since the adjudicator ruling 11 years ago.

She hasn’t been irresponsible, she’s tried to manage her finances sensibly.

Can you speak to the school? They may well be flexible on the settling in period. You won't know if you don't ask!

You should have been more responsible and saved some annual leave days for the school transition, just like everyone else does! How many days is the phased transition? Ours is 3 days of half days and then full time the following week. Half the class in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. This allows the teachers to get to know them a bit before they begin. You’re already being that parent that thinks that the rules don’t apply to them and will throw their toys out of the pram if there is something they don’t agree with.

I thought settling in was pretty sensible tbh. My DS went to nursery full time but lost his mind when he started school, it really is a world of difference. Our school had 2 settling in days and then started full time.

Can you not take unpaid parental leave? Jiggle your flexible hours temporarily?

They don’t transition the children in a specific way for shits and giggles.

You need a plan B for parenting. There will be loads of days when your child is off school and you don’t have annual leave to cover it.